The 26 Best, Most Exciting Action Movies on Netflix Right Now

Seeking explosive and thrilling entertainment from the comfort of home? Here's some good news: Right now, Netflix is host to a virtual library of heart-pounding action films from around the world! We want to help you make your next selection to stream at home, so we've selected the best.

Whether you're looking to take a new home theater setup for a test drive, or if you're just searching for an armrest-gripping good time, we recommend these action-packed favorites.

These are the best, most exciting action movies you can watch on Netflix right now. We've even included some honorable mentions.

This list is regularly updated as films come and go from Netflix's library.

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Best Action Movies on Netflix Right Now

1. Army of the Dead (2021) 

Hot on the heels of a long-in-gestation triumph with Zack Snyder's Justice League this spring, the fan-favorite director returns (without studio meddling) with a successor to his first (and arguably best) feature, 2004 remake Dawn of the Dead. Dave Bautista stars in the action/zombie/heist hybrid that's already a ratings hit for the streamer.

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2 & 3. Extraction (2020) & Extraction 2 (2023)

One of the most popular Netflix movies ever stars Chris Hemsworth as a notorious mercenary tasked with rescuing the kidnapped son of an international crime lord. Extraction has received mostly positive reviews, and debuted on Netflix to massive viewership. It's sequel is bigger and badder with even more over-the-top action set pieces. 

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4. The Sleepover (2020)

Malin Akerman and Joe Manganiello star in this family-friendly Netflix original, about tween siblings who discover their seemingly normal mom is actually a badass in the witness protection program. The action comedy was directed by Trish She, with a screenplay by Sarah Rothschild. The Sleepover was a bona fide hit for Netflix, one of the top programs on the service since its release.

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5. Project Power (2020)

Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt star in a Netflix original supernatural action thriller about a drug that gives its users temporary superpowers. Project Power garnered marginally positive reviews from critics, and it was Netflix's top-streamed film in its debut weekend.

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6. Triple Frontier (2019)

A rather stunning A-list cast including Charlie Hunnam, Ben Affleck, Pedro Pascal, Oscar Isaac and Garrett Hedlund. All is Lost and A Most Violent Year helmer J.C. Chandor's thriller (story by Mark Boal) sees U.S. Army colleagues reunite for a heist of a South American crime lord.

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7. The Old Guard (2020)

Greg Rucka adapted his own comic book for the screen, and Gina Prince-Bythewood directed this well-reviewed shoot-em-up. The ever-impressive and screen-commanding Charlize Theron stars alongside KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts and Chiwetel Ejiofor as an immortal mercenary out for vengeance.

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8. Red Notice (2021) 

Netflix's biggest movie ever received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, but continues to direct massive traffic for the streamer. Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot star in the comic actioner about an Interpol agent pursuing the world's most wanted art thief.

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9. The Killer (2023) 

In David Fincher's assassin drama, Michael Fassbender plays a hired killer who completes his work with methodical precision. When a job goes wrong, however, and the people who hired him are now trying to take him out, "the killer" must track down and murder the very people keeping him employed in order to save his own life. Several great action sequences and a few brilliant scenes with Tilda Swinton take the film to a whole new level. 

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10. The Apostle (2018) 

The Raid director Gareth Evans' horror/action freakout rewards a deliberate buildup with some stomach-turning violence and gore in the final act. The turn-of-the-20th-century period piece stars Dan Stevens as an Englishman who infiltrates a remote cult to rescue his sister.

11. The Ice Road (2021) 

Released late in the boom of Liam Neeson's formidable, leggy career comeback post-Taken, thoroughly implausible but fun The Ice Road stars the action favorite as an ice driver spearheading a rescue mission over frozen water. This Netflix hit is a modernized take on The Wages of Fear (famously adapted as Sorcerer in 1977).

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12. Ready Player One (2018) 

Based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Cline (who co-wrote the screenplay with Zak Penn), Ready Player One depicts a dystopian Earth in 2045, ravaged by climate change, overpopulation and corruption. To escape their grim desolation, people frequent the virtual reality world of OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation), where they can engage in numerous activities for work, education and entertainment. Tye Sheridan exhibits the chops of both a leading man and a Spielbergian everyman.

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13. Bullet Train (2022)

After a modestly successful theatrical run, kinetic Brad Pitt action comedy vehicle Bullet Train arrived on Netflix. The picture, about an assassin who crosses paths with numerous adversaries on the world's fastest train, quickly became a huge hit on the service. Directed by John Wick and Atomic Blonde helmer David Leitch, Bullet Train is lightweight, quirky and funny enough to provide just about anyone with a breezy diversion.

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14. RRR (2022)

The Rs stand for rise, roar, revolt—and international audiences have certainly risen and roared in response to this crossover hit of South Indian cinema, now streaming on Netflix. An epic buddy action musical that's sort of about real-life Indian revolutionaries and their struggle with the Raj, RRR is funny, bloody and kinetic, with a touching bromance between stars N.T. Rama Roa Jr. and Ram Charan. The VFX are outlandish but remarkably detailed and eye-popping. The film is genuinely spectacular for 187 minutes.

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15. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) 

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse burst into theaters back in 2018 and instantly staked its claim as one of the best animated films of the 2000s. Now, five years later, its sequel somehow has critics raving that its even better than the Oscar-winning original. Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is back in the Spidey costume and this time he's joined by hundreds of other Spider-beings as they try to fix deadly malfunctions within the multiverse. The animation here is more inventive than anything I've seen, the script is tight and the voice acting is pitch perfect. I would not want to be a film running in the Best Animated Feature category this year. Spider-Man is about to web-snatch another trophy. 

16.  Seraphim Falls (2007) 

Put James Bond in western with a man who has a "very particular set of skills" and you get Seraphim Falls. In a sort of reworking of The Outlaw Josey Wales, Pierce Brosnan plays a Union soldier on the run from a band of Confederate bounty hunters led by Taken's Liam Neeson. It's a classic showdown format and you'll mostly forget that both of these actors are Irish. 

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17. The Woman King (2022)

Viola Davis stars in Gina Prince-Bythewood's historical action epic about the all-female warrior unit Agojie in 19th-century West Africa. The Woman King was criticized for taking liberties with history, but just as many critics marveled at the crackling, muscular filmmaking; the movie opened atop the domestic box office. Davis received S.A.G., BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations but was completely robbed of any Oscar nods.